Notify

Get instant notifications on your Mac from anywhere — your server scripts, CI/CD pipelines, IoT devices, or any application. No complicated setup, no API keys, just simple HTTP requests.

Built for developers, sysadmins, and power users who need reliable notifications from their tools and workflows.

Why Notify?

Stop checking dashboards and logs manually. With Notify, your scripts and services can reach you instantly:

• Deployment finished? Get notified the moment your CI/CD completes
• Server error? Instant alerts when your monitoring detects issues
• Backup complete? Confirm your cron jobs ran successfully
• Long task done? Know when that database migration or video render finishes

Unlike email alerts (slow, easily missed) or Slack (noisy, requires login), Notify delivers native macOS notifications in real-time with zero infrastructure setup.

Download

Download for macOS

Requirements: macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later

Quick Start

1. Install

Download and drag Notify to your Applications folder. Launch it — you'll see a bell icon in your menu bar.

2. Create Your First Topic

Click the bell icon → Show Topics → + button

• Topic name: Choose something unique like john-alerts-a8f3 (topics are public on ntfy.sh, so make yours hard to guess)
• Server: Leave as ntfy.sh (or enter your own ntfy server URL)

Click Subscribe.

3. Send Your First Notification

Open Terminal and run:

curl -d "Hello from Notify!" ntfy.sh/your-topic-name

Replace your-topic-name with the topic you created. You'll see a macOS notification appear instantly.

4. Next Steps

Now try sending notifications from your own scripts:

# Notify when a task completes
./my-script.sh && curl -d "Task complete!" ntfy.sh/your-topic-name

# Alert on errors with high priority
./deploy.sh || curl -H "Priority: urgent" -d "Deploy failed!" ntfy.sh/your-topic-name

Real-World Examples

CI/CD Pipelines

# GitHub Actions notification
curl -H "Title: Deployment Complete" \
     -H "Priority: high" \
     -d "Production deployed from ${GITHUB_SHA:0:7}" \
     ntfy.sh/deploys

Server Monitoring

# Cron job status
0 2 * * * /backup.sh && curl -d "Backup: $(du -sh /backups | cut -f1)" ntfy.sh/backups

# Disk space alert
if [ $(df / | awk 'NR==2 {print $5}' | tr -d '%') -gt 90 ]; then
  curl -H "Priority: urgent" -d "Disk usage critical!" ntfy.sh/alerts
fi

Python Scripts

import requests

def long_running_task():
    # ... processing ...
    pass

try:
    long_running_task()
    requests.post("https://ntfy.sh/my-alerts", data="Task completed!")
except Exception as e:
    requests.post("https://ntfy.sh/my-alerts",
                  data=f"Task failed: {e}",
                  headers={"Priority": "urgent"})

See the ntfy documentation for all publishing options including attachments, action buttons, and more.

Features

Native macOS Experience

• Menu Bar Integration — Always accessible, never clutters your Dock
• Notification Center — Works with macOS notifications including actionable "Mark as Read" button
• Focus Mode Support — Filter by topic and priority during Do Not Disturb
• Siri & Shortcuts — Voice control and automation workflows

Reliable Connections

• Auto-Reconnect — Handles network changes, sleep/wake cycles, and connection drops automatically
• Automatic Updates — New features and bug fixes install in the background
• Secure Credentials — Passwords stored safely in macOS Keychain

Flexible & Powerful

• Multiple Topics — Subscribe to as many notification channels as you need
• Self-Hosted Support — Works with ntfy.sh or your own private ntfy server
• Enterprise Ready — MDM support for managed app configuration
• Deep Linking — Open topics directly with ntfy:// URLs

Siri & Shortcuts

Control Notify with your voice or build automations:

Voice Commands:

• "Hey Siri, how many unread in Notify"
• "Hey Siri, mark all Notify as read"
• "Hey Siri, subscribe to my-alerts in Notify"

Shortcuts App: Create workflows to subscribe to topics, check unread counts, or trigger actions based on time or location.

See the Siri & Shortcuts documentation for all available actions and automation examples.

Focus Mode Integration

Configure Notify in System Settings → Focus to control which notifications break through:

• Allow notifications only from specific topics
• Set minimum priority thresholds (Normal, High, Urgent)
• Block all notifications during certain Focus modes

See the Focus Mode documentation for detailed setup instructions.

For Enterprise

Deploy Notify across your organization with Managed App Configuration (MDM):

• Pre-configure server URLs and topics
• Enforce launch at login settings
• Point to your organization's private ntfy server

See the MDM Configuration Guide for setup instructions.

Privacy & Security

• No tracking — Zero analytics or telemetry
• No accounts — No registration or personal information required
• Keychain integration — Passwords stored securely, never in plaintext
• Open source — Full source code available for audit
• Local storage — Messages stored only on your Mac

For maximum privacy, self-host your ntfy server.

FAQ

Is this free? Yes, Notify is free and open source (GPLv3 license). The ntfy.sh service is also free with generous limits.

Can I use my own server? Yes! Each topic can use a different server URL. Works with any ntfy-compatible server.

Are topics private? Topics on ntfy.sh are public — anyone who knows the name can subscribe or send. Use unique topic names and add authentication for sensitive notifications, or self-host for complete control.

What about iOS? Notify is macOS-only. For iOS, use the official ntfy app.

Troubleshooting

Notifications not appearing?

• Check System Settings → Notifications → Notify is enabled
• Verify your topic name matches exactly (case-sensitive)
• Ensure Notify shows "Connected" status for your topic

Need help? Open an issue

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/maman/notify.git
cd notify

# Resolve dependencies
xcodebuild -project src/ntfy.xcodeproj -scheme Notify -resolvePackageDependencies

# Build
xcodebuild -project src/ntfy.xcodeproj -scheme Notify -configuration Release build

The built app will be at build/Release/Notify.app.

Requirements: Xcode 16.0 or later

License

GPLv3

Acknowledgments

• ntfy by Philipp C. Heckel
• KeychainAccess by kishikawakatsumi
• Sparkle for auto-updates